14-Year-Old Playing “Doorbell Ditch” Prank Gets Shot By Homeowner

A Long Island man is accused of shooting a 14-year-old boy who rang his doorbell as a prank.

James Moshier, 64, was charged with assault and recklessly injuring a minor with a deadly weapon. On Thursday, authorities say he shot the teen in the arm on his Laurel property around 9 p.m., the New York Post reported.

The teen knocked on the suspect’s front and back door several times, which caused a woman inside to believe it was being burglarized.

She woke up Moshier, and that’s when he went to his backdoor and allegedly fired a shotgun at the teen.

Several teens were attending a sleepover with the shooting victim and told a cable outlet that he and another friend got bored and decided to pick a random home in the neighborhood to “doorbell ditch.”

“Sometimes what we think are harmless pranks turn into major incidents,” Southold Police Capt. James Ginas reportedly said, urging people to “be smart.”

The teen received treatment at a hospital, and Moshier was released on $20,000 bail ahead of a court date next week, News 12 reported.